Legacy - discussion for future event narrative

In M42.011, Corporal Aderyn Aeslin died twice. Or, at least, that's what the official reports say.

What is known is that following her heroic first death and subsequent resurrection during the Ilithyian War (ref: "Ilithyia" - common name for Cerestne XVII, Cuir sub-sector, Carthax sector, Segmentum Pacificus), Aderyn was hailed as a heroine, a living embodiment of the Emperor's will and a game-changer in the decades-long conflict - a figurehead capable of driving Chaos from the world and back to the fallen Alykia sector (ref: lost to forces of Warlord Imylosst in 914-937.M41 war).
Perhaps even with time, she would become the leader of a counter-crusade that would reclaim those rightful demesnes of the Emperor.

These hopes were seemingly dashed when, once the Inquisition had chosen their champion (ref: Inquisitor Josephine Cortez) to assess Corporal Aeslin's purity, the site for the High Assembly was fired upon by a hijacked orbital defence platform. Officially, the Corporal was once again killed in action; unofficially, her body was never found.

News of the Corporal's second death lead to mass civil unrest across almost the entirety of the Cuir sub-sector, at grand costs both mortal and financial. The hero of this aftermath was undoubtedly the sub-sector's new Cardinal, Tobas Kiedrow (ref: took position in 009.M42, following disappearance of Cardinal Malatesta), whose inspiring sermons and posthumous canonisation of Aderyn rallied much the population into a wave of religious fervour.

Four years on, this has come full circle. His reputation built on the foundation of the saint, his continued aspirations have led attention to fall on the Ilithyian War once again. The voice of the masses now calls for the Imperium to fully reclaim the world in Aderyn's name.

Buoyed by this wave of zeal, the Imperium once again has possibilities that the living saint offered: a hope of fully bolstering Ilithyia and driving the taint from the sub-sector. A decisive victory here could free up many of the Cuir sub-sector's resources, both military and civilian.
Detractors say that it won't end there - the citizen's fervour would only grow with the end of the generations-old conflict, and where would that lead? A crusade into the Alykia sector would stretch the Carthax sector to its limits, but without such a common cause, the religious frenzy could lead to civil war.

And so it is that the Inquisition once again look to Ilithyia. Some of them trying to end a war. Some of them trying to prevent one.

~~~~~

"Legacy" (working title) is a proposed one-day campaign event in late 2015 or early-to-mid 2016, probably at Warhammer World, to follow on from the events of "The Saint" event in 2011.

Details for the event are subject to change, but is intended to be an open event for both 28 and 54mm play. The story and its revelations will branch out over three game rounds, with a structure that will reward players building alliances (and rivalries) between games.
Separate, but linked narratives will be provided for each miniature scale, but players will have freedom to swap between them (if they have suitable models, of course).

Feedback is welcome on the concept. If interest is reasonable, I'll press on with further development. Some of the event elements I envision will require quite a lot of effort, which is why I want to solicit feedback early on, but also keep my deadline flexible.

~~~~~

FAQ (so far):

> What/where is the Carthax Sector?
The Carthax sector is a collaborative fan project, intended to be a setting for Inquisitor narratives.

In the material universe, it sits on the western fringe of Pacificus. (In my mind, a couple of thousand light years galactic north/north-west-ish of the Sabbat worlds, but "officially" it's left a little more vague)
In the warp, no-one quite knows. The immaterium around Carthax is completely pretzel shaped (or at least, appears to be so), which has lead it to have some rather far-flung warp routes, some even leading to sectors that are physically in entirely different segmentums.

I'm entirely happy to have non-Carthaxian characters along though - I'd prefer that bit of artistic licence over people not attending!

> This is set in the 42nd millennium?
Ostensibly. The Carthax sector's "present day" is set 39,000 years ahead of today, giving it a slowly progressing time line, but given the accuracy of Imperial dating and the nature of the warp, the rest of the galaxy may well not agree!

> Are new players who weren't there for the Saint welcome?
Players and characters who were not at the Saint are entirely welcome! It was four years ago now, so I'm sure we'll have lost some players and gained new ones!

> So you'll have some trying to help the Cardinal start a crusade into the Chaos held subsector and others trying to prevent it, perhaps those who didn't believe in the Saint in the first place trying to discredit her whole story?
The intention is to let the objectives be general (basically warmonger/peacekeeper) and morally grey enough that the event will get a reasonable adversarial split.

But deeper than that, I hope to have many possible goals and subplots (a lot of which I will be soliciting ideas for), but exactly how those will eventually play out during the day will very much vary. The current plan is that it will be sort of a "choose your own adventure" event. There will be multiple possible narrative paths, and as characters get the upper hand, they will end up in a position where they can define the next stage of the plot.

For examples:

- The religious sub-plots will be able to be pushed in various directions. Perhaps trying to remove Kiedrow (should the characters believe his disappearance/assassination will further their cause), uncovering more of the truth of the saint (but whether or not the characters keep that to themselves, pass it on or lie about it... well... ) or simply remaining in willing and pious ignorance...

- The military sub-plots will involve the acquisition and control of powerful assets. If she's finally ready, my 54mm scale Warhound Leander will doubtless feature in the plot; being one of the most famed titans in the Carthax sector (despite her modest age and class), she could be a crucial element in directing the conflict.

Basically, I'll be trying to develop the core of the event's fluff early on, complete with lots of hooks and sub-plots, so that people can get in contact with me regarding ideas for where their characters want to go within that.

> What characters will I be able to bring?
You'll need at least one character (obviously). You can bring more, but you will generally be limited to using three or four in any game.

Your group won't have to be part of the Inquisition - if you want to bring along a Rogue Trader's entourage, an Explorator team or a Chaos Demagogue's rabble, feel free. I'll even discuss finding alien parties a place in the plot.

The only major requirement is that characters adhere to the co-operative spirit of the game. A Devastator squad, for example, will not be welcome!

> Have you any more concrete thoughts about the date?
Not yet, but I will be consulting players, and I promise it won't be at less than two months notice.

What I can say is that it'll definitely be a Saturday and is more likely to be early next year than late this year.

> Will you have along inexperienced players?
We've had inexperienced players before - as long as you understand the point of the game and what you can do with it, veteran players and GMs will be able to help you with the how, so it should all work out fine.